


Tea and Grass and Broomsticks

by mangoapplepie (jg291)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Hogwarts Sixth Year, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 21:43:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4115920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jg291/pseuds/mangoapplepie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus gets really confused when he brews his first batch of Amortentia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tea and Grass and Broomsticks

First N.E.W.T. level potions lesson, and Slughorn has them making amortentia. Remus is more than a little scared to find out what his is going to smell like, but he works very, very hard at brewing it, because he kind of needs to know? Potions has never been his best subject but he has to get as many N.E.W.T.s as he possibly can - his job options aren’t exactly going to be wide, so he figures he better be prepared. 

He’s the second person to accurately brew his potion. Lily finished first, of course, but that’s nothing new. Eager, he leans in and smells - tea, grass, broomstick polish, and something else earthy. It reminds him of ….  _James?_

Remus wracks his brain for anyone else he can connect that particular combination of scents to, but he comes up empty. 

Oh. 

Well. That was unexpected. Remus shoots a look at James on the other side of the room, his cauldron smoking, little beads of sweat pooling around his hair. James notices Remus looking at him, and gives a little wink and a smile, probably trying to convey nonchalance that he’s completely failing this potion (even though Remus knows James beats himself up every time he can’t get something, because on some level his friend wants to be great, even though he’d never admit it.) The wink is still confusing, though, combined with how Remus’s potion smelled, and his insides give a little shake. Out of confusion, affection, arousal, he’s not sure. James isn’t bad looking, by any means, but it just doesn’t feel right. Maybe he didn’t brew the potion right after all?

-

Remus is still shaken up later that night, trying to reconcile what he’s feeling with what happened in class. He’s so deep in thought he doesn’t notice when someone sits down right next to him, until there are two hands on his shoulders, starting to rub a gentle pressure into his neck. 

“What’s wrong, Moony?” Sirius asks, sounding concerned. “You seem tense.”

Remus finally looks up, bits his lips for a moment to hold in a moan that Sirius’s spontaneous massage might be causing. He missed Sirius this summer when he had moved in with the Potters’ - Remus had meant to go visit but spent most of his summer on the Continent, his father trying every last solution he could think of to deal with Remus’s problem, which Remus knew was an entirely futile mission. He went along with it, though, to let his dad hold on to hope for a few more weeks, at least. 

But Sirius had apparently had a wonderful summer, and that was what mattered. His prior summer, he had spent trapped inside Grimmauld Place as his parents tried to punish him for being a good person, and Remus was glad this one was very different. Sirius had come back very tan, moreso than ever, with far better flying skills than he had had in their fifth year. James apparently made Sirius play a game of ‘catch the Snitch’ every day, and, well, Remus wasn’t going to complain if it had slightly sharpened Sirius’s physique. That would just be ridiculous. 

“Just tired, I guess.” Better to keep his response short, to keep in how much Sirius’s ministrations were affecting him. 

“Oh come on, Reme, it’s seriously the first day of classes. You can’t tell me your already bogged down?”  

“I don’t know, just thinking about the N.E.W.T.s I’m going to be taking, it’s a bit overwhelming.” 

Sirius continued the massage as he talked, pressing in, harder, and Remus can’t help when a small sound escapes his lips. “You want to run down to the kitchens and get some tea when I’m done with you? It really does work wonders.”

Ah, yes, tea. Apparently Mrs. Potter had gotten Sirius to be an utter tea fanatic, and he wanted to drink it, every day, all the time now. 

Even though Remus doesn’t really want to leave the Common Room, he agrees, and he can feel Sirius smile, even though he’s not looking at his friend.

Sirius pulls his hands away, grabs Remus around until they’re looking at each other. He looks a bit nervous, too, when he starts to talk. “So, um, Remus, what’d you smell in your potion today?” 

Shit. He can’t tell Sirius that - how could he possibly tell Sirius that he smelled Quidditch and tea and - oh. 

He didn’t smell James. 

Oh. This makes so much more sense. 

“Must I really answer, Pads? It’s a bit private,” Remus answer.

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours!” Sirius responds, excited look back on his face. 

“Fine.” Remus can’t resist for long. “You go first.”

“You.”

Remus groans. “Nope. You brought it up, it clearly matters more to you, you go first.”

Sirius looks resigned. “No, Moony, I didn’t mean ‘you go first.’ I meant, you. I smelled you - chocolate, and library, and jumpers, and you.” 

“Really?” Remus knows it’s a shit response, but he’s not sure what else to say. 

Now it’s Sirius’s turn to groan. “Would I lie about that? Please tell me what your potion was?” There’s anguish all over his face. 

Okay, Remus can do this. He can. “Grass and broomsticks and tea and Quidditch.”

Sirius’s face falls. “You smelled James?” 

Remus laughs. “No, you idiot,” and Remus pauses like Sirius is being ridiculous, even though it’s apparently an easy mistake to make, “I smelled you.” 

“Really?”

“Would I lie about that?” 

Sirius laughs now, and leans in closer. “Can I kiss you, Moony?” 

Remus only nods, and soon, he no longer needs to bite his tongue to hold in his moans. 

The tea is forgotten.


End file.
